Pat Hayes/ harmonica, guitar, vocals
Ted Larsen/ guitar
Jesse Petrowski/ bass
Greg Shuck/ drums
Brian Risling/ saxophone
BACKGROUND/ At the controls, Pat "Lamont" Hayes has led the legendary band since the late 60's through many personnel changes, 13 albums and many show stopping experiences. Besides leading the Cranstons through the years of popularity that they've enjoyed, Hayes also has solo ventures to his credit, touring with Bonnie Raitt as a member of her band on her 1990 "Nick Of Time" tour, blowing harmonica duets with Charlie Musselwhite in Minneapolis and during a 1994 Hollywood trip after receiving a special invitation from Dan Aykroyd to be a special guest performer at a private party pre-grand opening bash at Dan's new 'House Of Blues' nightclub, where he performed with Charlie and his band the first night and with The Blues Brothers band the next night. Pat has been hailed by Bonnie, Dan and many others as being one of the best harmonica players around.
The Cranston hit 'Excusez Moi, Mon Cheri' (written by Pat's brother Larry) was recorded by The Blues Brothers on the flipside of their 1979 hit "Soul Man". It was also used on the soundtrack of the Al Franken-Tom Davis movie "One More Saturday Night", along with their biggest hit "Upper Mississippi Shakedown".
Larsen, who just hopped on board on May 1, 1998, has a quite a history on the local scene already since moving to Minneapolis from Fargo in 1995 as part of 'Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang'. Ted also continued playing through 3 more re-incarnations of The Big Bang until recently. He has played on the original Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang release; "Smokin'", on Jonny's platinum 1997 release "Lie To Me" and can be found on the 1997 Cranston release "Roll With Me".
Shuck, who has 25 plus years of experience, has played with a virtual "Who's Who" of Twin Cities blues acts including Mojo Buford, Percy Strother, The Butanes, Lynwood Slim, Lazy Bill Lucas, Sonny Rogers, Joe T. Cook and R.J. Mischo. Greg joined the band in January 2004, after filling in on a few gigs here and there over the years.
Risling has played with The Power Of 10 and many other rock, blues, soul, funk, country, jazz and polka bands. Besides the sax, Brian also plays flute, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, guitar and bass guitar. Brian joined the band in May, 2007.
HISTORY/ From the clubs, concert halls and festivals to the auditoriums and stadiums, the Cranstons have shared the stage with Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Albery King, Albert Collins, Jimmy Rogers, Charlie Musselwhite, Delbert McClinton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Koko Taylor, Jonny Lang, Bonnie Raitt, The Blues Brothers and many many more. One of the biggest thrills was opening for The Rolling Stones on a leg of their North American tour in 1981, winding up on the final show in their hometown of Minneapolis. This legendary band has been at the receiving end of many Minnesota Music Awards for both band and individual achievements.
The band, along with performing many traditional blues standards penned by Waters, Willie Dixon, Lowell Fulson and others, has displayed tremendous song writing talent by Pat and his brother Larry over the years. The original "Upper Mississippi Shakedown", was a radio hit in the 1980's and appeared on the soundtrack of the Tom Davis-Al Franken movie "One More Saturday Night". One of Larry's songs; "Excusez Moi, Mon Cheri", was recorded by The Blues Brothers on the flip side of their 1979 hit single "Soul Man", as well as being included on the Davis-Franken soundtrack.
In 1993, ERA Records released a compilation of the past Cranston's recordings in a collection titled; "Upper Mississippi Shakedown - The Best Of The Lamont Cranston Band".
December 1994 brought another 'Best Of.....' compilation consisting of material from the first two albums along with 5 previously unreleased songs. It is titled; "Rock-Awhile - The Early Years, 1975 - 1978".
".... a great collection of covers and originals and the kind of full-throated sound you get from a large band with horns and an upfront singer/harpman leading this aggregation."
- Phil Lloyd, American Harmonica Magazine, Chicago
".... a remarkably fresh and enjoyable R & B outfit...... a strong, understated ensemble performance, and one which certainly repays repeated listening."
- Paul Lewis, Blues & Rhythm Magazine, Great Britain
In September 1996, Atomic Theory reissued 1991's 'The Lamont Cranston Blues Band featuring Pat Hayes' with worldwide distribution through Rounder Records.
"The sound is nonstop blues in the key of boogie, a virtual heat wave of jump from the upper Midwest."
- James Reindl, The Associated Press
"An energetic and infectious set of blues/rock."
- PJK, Living Blues Magazine
Now, FINALLY, their first studio recording of new material in 7 years hit the streets worldwide on September 9, 1997. It's called "Roll With Me". With all new songs written and produced by Pat Hayes, the CD is already receiving rave reviews. Many special guest stars that include Bruce McCabe (former Cranston, former Hoopsnake, now with Jonny Lang); Texas sax great Johnny Reno (who you may have seen with Chris Isaak); Ted "Lightning Boy" Larsen of The Big Bang; Dave "Biscuit" Miller of The Lonnie Brooks Band and hot blues newcomer Reneé Austin.
"This CD is quite a number. Thumbs up, four stars, next to perfect, a good buy, an even better gift. I'm hooked, hog-tied and collared."
- Mark A. Cole, Detroit Big City Blues, September 1997
"This is definitely a fun album and one of the better releases of 1997."
- Ray Stiles, Twin Cities Blues News, September 1997
These two reviews along with the CD liner note quotes from both Bonnie Raitt and Dan Aykroyd (which you probably read on the homepage) lead everyone to believe that this is the best Cranston release to date.
**The band recently made history when they were the 1st band to play the 1st note to the 1st paying crowd on grand opening night of the new Chicago House Of Blues for pal Dan Aykroyd in November 1996.
THE SHOW/ The band's show consists of many blues standards including; Elmore James' "Talk To Me Baby" and "Stranger Blues", Fulson's "Two-Way Wishin'", T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues", as well as many tasteful selections from Cranston's prior CD of new works; "I Don't Wanna Know" and "Stop On By" by Jim Liban along with Pat Hayes' "Cold WInds" and "Fever". They also throw in some of their old hits for their loyal fans that really spotlight the band's writing talents; a tremendously moving version of Pat's "E Jam" and the always requested "Upper Mississippi Shakedown". Then, there is the popular, always requested Hayes brothers collaboration on "Streets Around Here". The highlight of the show features new writings by Pat which include "Hold On", "Play The Blues", "Don't Take Me Down Again" and "What A Party", which is destined to be the Cranston's next radio hit.
Pat Hayes seems to be able to cover any harmonica style with ease, and when he puts the harmonica down, he cuts loose with his explosive guitar style. Ted Larsen's guitar work is some of the most tasteful you will ever hear. Add the powerful rhythm section of Petrowski and Shuck and you have a band that rocks the house wherever they go.
"I saw these cats a few months ago in New Ulm, Minnesota at the Minnesota Blues Festival and they were great. Count on these guys to tear it up every time they go out."
- Tom Radai, Wisconsin Blues Society.